Sudan is located in Northern Africa, bordering Egypt and Eritrea. It has a population of over 45 million people, with ethnic and religious diversity. Sudan has experienced prolonged civil wars and conflict in Darfur has displaced over 2 million people since 2003. The ongoing conflict in Darfur is between the government and rebel groups, and involves government-backed Janjaweed militias carrying out attacks against civilian populations. As a result, there are over 5 million internally displaced people living in refugee camps with lack of basic necessities and ongoing insecurity and human rights abuses.

1. SUDAN
LOCATION : Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea,
between Egypt and Eritrea.
AREA: 1,861,484 sq km
MAJOR CITY: KHARTOUM (capital) 5.021 million
people
POPULATION: (including South Sudan) 45,047,502
ETHNIC GROUPS : Sudanese Arab (approximately
70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata.
RELIGION : Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority
LANGUAGE: Arabic (official), English (official),
Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur.

2. PEOPLE AND SOCIETY FACTS
BIRTH RATE: 36.12 births/1,000 population
DEATH RATE: 11 deaths/1,000 population
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 55.42 years
INFANT MORTALITY: 68.07 deaths/1,000 live births
HEALTH:
PHYSICIAN DENSITY: 0.28 physicians/1,000 population
MAJOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES:
•Malaria.
• Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and
typhoid.
• Fever-vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping
sickness.)
•Water contact disease: schistosomiasis (snail fever).
• Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitisanimal.
•Contact disease: rabies
PEOPLE LIVING WITH AIDS: 260,000 people
CHILDREN UNDERWEIGHT UNDER 5 : 31.6 %

3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics
since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars
during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in the
northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab
southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The
second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced
and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two
decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The
final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted
the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for
Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming
support for independence. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of
Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to
400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the
African Union in December 2007. Peacekeeping troops have struggled to stabilize the
situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope and has brought instability to
eastern Chad. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries
primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of
government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance
to affected populations.

4. THE DARFUR SITUATION
KEY PLAYERS IN THE CURRENT CRISIS:
•Khartoum Government with Omar al Bashir
•Janjaweed, Popular Defense Force (PDF)
•The Darfur rebel groups:
- Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A)
- Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)
BRIEF SUMMAY
Government neglect has left the people throughout
Sudan poor and voiceless. In February 2003, the non-
Arab ethnic groups of Darfur launched an uprising
against the Kartoum government accusing it of
oppressing non-Arab sudanese in favor of Sudanese
Arabs. The government responded by implementing
their campaign of genocide, enlisting the help of Arab
militia in Darfur called the Janjaweed. The ongoing
conflict has made a large number of victims from
either direct combat or starvation and disease
inflicted by the conflict. There have also been mass
displacements and coercive migrations, forcing
millions into refugee camps or over the border and
creating a large humanitarian crisis and is regarded
by many as a Genocide.

6. DESTRUCTION OF
VILLAGES BY THE
JANWAWEED ARMY

7. Villages destroyed by the
conflict in Darfur region .

8. EFFECTS OF THE CONFLICT
DEATH: As of January 2010: number of deaths is estimated between 178,258 and 461,520 with
80% due du diseases.
REFUGEES (country of origin): 162,000 (Eritrea); 43,000 (Chad); 11,009 (Ethiopia)
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE: (as of January 2011)
Total: between 4,5 and 5,2 IDPs plus unknown numbers of IDPs.
In Darfur: 1,9 (2.7) million (from 2003 to 2009) and 268,000 newly displaced in 2010.
Widespread human rights abuses by the government and armed groups are a daily
occurrence in Sudan including killing, torture, looting and destroying of property. All sides to
the conflict continue to commit violations of international humanitarian law, such as attacks
on civilians and on humanitarian convoys. Violence against women, including rape, remains
widespread, particularly in Darfur. Throughout Sudan, the government routinely represses
human rights defenders, political opponents and ordinary civilians, subjecting many to torture
and other forms of ill-treatment. Though the International Criminal Court has issued arrest
warrants for Crimes Against Humanity widespread, systematic, and grave abuses persist.
the government continues to restrict humanitarian aid, Darfuris also continue to face arbitrary
arrest and detention, and people continue to be killed everyday.

10. THE REFUGEE CAMPS
Main problems:
• Upon arriving in the camps, the refugees have to wait sometimes for months in order
to enter the camps and get a shelter. Although space is not an issue, this is due to the
lack of tents available. In order to maximize the space, people are grouped, with
priority to the women and young children and only then the group able to get a shelter.
People outside the camps deal with extremely hot days and very cold night with barely
any protection.
•African Union troops insure the security of the refugees, but militia raid through the
camps are still an occurring event.
• water and food shortage create tensions among the refugees, which could lead to
ethnic dispute in the camp threatening the security of the people.
• No shade, lack of trees within the camps. Indeed most of them have been cut due to
the necessity of material in order to build, or to create a fire.
• Spread of diseases.
•No sense of protection: Indeed as opposed to natural disasters, the war situation is
ongoing, the refugees are not starting over/ rebuilding after a one time event they
constantly threatened by new conflict breakouts and thus have no sense of security in
the camps.

11. The IDP camps are all located on the fringes
of town, facing waterless plains

12. Typical environment of the IDP’s
camps.

13. WATER CONTAINER QUEUE AT WELLPOINT IN ABU SHOUK CAMP

14. Traditional IDP’s camp

16. FOOD DISTRIBUTION AT THE BOR WAY
STATION
families are supplied with two months worth
of foodstuffs, seeds, tools and other items

17. School children in the Mandela camp for internally
displaced persons in Khartoum state

18. SET OF CRITERIA
-FAST TO MAKE
-EASY TO MAKE, for everyone
children, adults, elders
-LIGHT because the health condition of most
refugees does not allow them to lift heavy
materials.
-TRANSPORTABLE: the refugees are often moved
from one area of the camp to another for safety
reasons
-INSECT REPELENT: in order to fight the spread of
malaria or tsetse fever.
-ADAPTABLE TO CLIMATE: warm during the
night/cold during the days.
-COMFORTING: to bring the refugee a sense of
comfort, safety, peace.
-LOCAL: using only local and sustainable materials:
the ecological situation in Sudan is also a reason
for displacement.